If you were at Gastrofest last week, you witnessed yet another successful food and drink festival for Jacksonville. But this year was a little different for us at Legacy Ale Works. I, Liz Jacobs took to social media in February to announce that I would be brewing my first beer and decided to enter it into the Homebrew Competition at Gastrofest, hosted by the Jax Beer Society. And though I had the support of my husband and head brewer Matt, I challenged myself to do this batch completely on my own - from recipe creation to purchasing grains (with some help from the fellas at Just Brew It) to brewing it on our homebrew system.

Photo courteosy Instagram www.instagram.com/lizis217

Un Poco de Piña was the name of my Piña Colada Cream Ale. My first test batch was a huge success - 2.5 gallons of perfectly balanced pineapple and toasted coconut with hints of rum and a woody oak aroma. However, when I scaled up my recipe, I changed one key component, my ale yeast, and that simple change would affect my final product. Though the pineapple and coconut flavors made an appearance in the final product, the cream ale was too hazy for it's style, it was slightly under carbonated and ultimately had a heavier mouthfeel than it was supposed to. I didn't win the competition (not that I expected to - it WAS my first attempt after all), but I was excited to be one of only two female participants in this year's competition. Ashley, a fellow competitor has been brewing for 8 years and brought a Lavender infused Green Tea IPA which got rave reviews from the crowd.

I was honored to be representing fellow lady brewers in the competition and it inspired me to take my involvement in the beer community to the next step - I officially became a member of the Pink Boots Society. PBS is a national non-profit association of women in the beer industry. As a brewery owner, I qualify for the program and have joined the Florida Chapter of PBS and stand alongside amazing powerhouse women in the Craft Beer Industry in Florida such as Maria Cabre, Assistant Brewer for J. Wakefield Brewing in Miami and Felonice Merriman, Co-Owner of Accomplice Brewery and Ciderworks in West Palm Beach.

Photo credit Pink Boots Society

I am looking forward to getting more involved with our brewing, developing my skill further and who knows, possibly even a collaboration in the works- you'll have to stay tuned to find out! And if you missed Un Poco de Piña, don't worry, we're giving it another shot at the Hogtown Craft Beer Festival in Gainesville this month, but don't worry - I left the brewing to the expert... this time.

Legacy Ale Works, LLC, a brewery in planning announced Thursday their plans to open a brewery and taproom in the Bartram Area. A lease has been signed on 3300SF of space in the Shoppes at Durbin Creek Plaza located at 14965 Old St. Augustine Rd., Ste 129-130, Jacksonville, FL 32258, located on the corner of Old St. Augustine Rd and US1.

Plans for the brewery include a 1000SF production area equipped with a 3.5BBL brewhouse and a 2300SF tap room featuring ample seating for patrons, private event space and designated kid-friendly entertainment area. In addition, the space will include an outdoor courtyard patio with additional seating and live music.

Though there are no current plans for a restaurant within the brewery, food options within the plaza include sushi, Italian, BBQ, Mexican and a bakery.Guests are welcome to bring in outside food.

Owners Matthew and Elizabeth Jacobs share that their vision is to offer quality craft beer, a welcoming,casual atmosphere and a family-friendly and accommodating environment to their patrons. Their courtyard will also welcome pet families.

“We have taken note of successful customer experiences from the many breweries we have visited across the U.S. and we hope to embody all of these traits in our new home,” says co-owner Liz Jacobs. “Simple creature comforts like lounge seating in the tap room as well as baby changing tables in both men’s and women’s bathrooms are the types of details we hope our customers will really appreciate and enjoy.”

Head brewer Matt Jacobs showcased his most recent beer creations at the Riverside Craft Beer Festivallast weekend and will be offering new selections at the Hogtown Craft Beer Festival in Gainesville on April 23rd .

“Though it feels like we are just getting started, we’ve been working on securing a location for almost 1 year,” shares Matt. “We are excited to finally be reaching the next stage in our planning process. This is where things will begin to move really fast and we couldn’t be happier.”.

Legacy will be working with Roy Williams Architecture on design of the 3300SF space. Though the company is currently in the early stages of zoning approval and as no clear zoning rights exist for breweries and taprooms, Legacy Ale Works plansto move forward with build-out quickly and hopes their opening announcement will come by early Summer.

We are excited to announce that Legacy Ale Works will be participating in the upcoming Riverside Craft Beer Fest, taking place February 24th under the Fuller Warren Bridge. We will be participating alongside 70 other awesome craft beer vendors offering two of our newest beer styles - check it out:

"Get Schwarty" a play on a German Schwartzbier - despite it's appearance, this dark lager is easy drinking like it's familiar golden cousin, but with a slight roasty flavor

"Trippy Devil" this fun Belgian Tripel has a light body to balance out the intense 8.4% ABV. And true to it's name you need to be careful, because it's a devil in disguise!

If you're planning on attending, consider getting a VIP ticket because we'll have a special treat for anyone who visits us during the VIP hour! More details to come soon regarding our participation in the event and the latest developments on our opening! If you haven't already, like our Facebook page and follow us on Instagram to keep up with our latest news and events - we'd love to have you along for the ride as we gear up for an opening - hopefully soon!